posted by Bill Gallucccio -

Dec 10, 2018

A 12-year-old boy from Michigan is spending his free time raking leaves and doing other odd jobs so he can buy a Christmas present for the family of his best friend, who recently passed away after a years-long battle with leukemia. Kaleb Klakulak and Kenneth “K.J.” Gross had been inseparable since they met in the second grade and when K.J. passed away, his family was unable to afford the $2,500 to buy a gravestone. Kaleb knew he had to help out, so he grabbed his rake and got to work.

K.J.'s mother, Lasondra Singleton, told the Detroit Free Press that she was overwhelmed when she learned the Kaleb was trying to raise money to buy a gravestone for her son.

"My son’s not here, but (Kaleb) still loves my son enough to (do) this," she said, fighting back tears. "It just speaks volumes to the type of people that they are, and it speaks to the type of person that K.J. was — he impacted people to where they want to do this for him."

“They would paint together, and play video games together," Kaleb's mother, Kristy Hall said. "K.J. was intubated, so he wasn’t able to speak. But they would communicate. It was pretty amazing to watch."

So far, Kaleb has managed to raise $900, which he gave to Singleton. He hopes to earn the rest of the money before Christmas.